Egypt and Turkey have warned against war on Iran and called for a peaceful solution to the nuclear standoff, when U.S. President George W. Bush toured the region in a bid to isolate Tehran.

Quotes: "We have no details on Iran's nuclear program, but if it is a danger, then it must be resolved peacefully," Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said at a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in Cairo. "There is no need for the use of force. Use of force will lead to very serious consequences in the region and the world," Mubarak said. "The problems must be resolved diplomatically," Gul added.

President Bush hit out at Iran in a speech in the United Arab Emirates, charging that Tehran had become "the world's leading state-sponsor of terror" and that Al-Qaida was the main threat to the region's stability. "So the U.S. is strengthening our longstanding security commitments with our friends in the Gulf -- and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late," said Bush.

Times are getting critical. And, preparations are being made everywhere.

Quote: "The yearning for a restoration of Russia's prestige is expressed throughout society, in areas as diverse as sports and the arts. This feeling has saturated the atmosphere because of the Kremlin's skillful manipulation. A career intelligence officer, Putin has taken considerable pains to conceal his plans. It has become commonplace to say that Russian policy under Putin has become a series of "special operations." This secrecy is simply a part of the mindset of Putin and the siloviki -- people associated with the security organs and the military -- who surround him. Some clues about Putin's intentions can be found in an 800-page manifesto issued last summer by a group of about 70 pro-Putin, national-patriotic academics under the title "Russian Doctrine." The book is presented as a set of "guidelines" for the next administration and a kind of national, supra-party platform. It contains detailed foreign- and domestic-policy proposals, including autocratic reforms to the military, national-security system, the economy, the mass media, education, and culture. The "Russian Doctrine" presumes that the Russian Federation is doomed to extinction because it will be unable to cope with the looming challenges of international competition. Within the next decade, the authors claim, Russia will increasingly begin to lag behind China, India, the United States, and some Southeast Asian countries. In response, the authors propose a new state structure based on the traditions of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Interestingly, they propose doing so without dissolving the Russian Federation: that is, they urge the creation of a "parallel state" initially operating unseen behind the facade of the current one. It would consist of a system of political and economic institutions accessible only to Putin and the siloviki that the authors call "the invisible, networked Russia."

And a further quote: "Russia has started full-scale production of the Su-34 Fullback fighter bomber at a Siberian aircraft plant, plane maker Sukhoi said on Wednesday. A company spokesman said up to 20 fighters could now be assembled simultaneously at the Novosibirsk Aviation Production Association (NAPO), but did not specify how many would be built each year. The $36 million Su-34 fighter-bomber is a two-seat strike aircraft equipped with twin AL-31MF afterburning turbojet engines. It is designed to deliver high-precision strikes on heavily-defended targets under any weather conditions, day or night, and fields weaponry that includes a 30mm GSh-301 cannon, up to 12 Alamo or Archer AAMs, ASMs, and bombs. Designed by Sukhoi, the Su-34s will replace the Su-24 Fencer frontline bombers. Experts said the new bomber has the potential to become the top plane in its class for years to come."

The world has had some relatively peaceful decades as a whole. But now all of a sudden, numerous alliances are being formed, all the axes being sharpened. The Bible is clear in its statement: "And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword." (Rev. 6:4)

Time and again, greater swords are being grinded. Thus, grind the Sword of the Word of God, to shine the light that saves, from the wrath of God soon to fall upon the wicked!

"And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" (Rom. 10:15)